Maggie’s ambassador to the People’s Postcode Lottery in England, GMTV presenter, Penny Smith, presented Maggie’s Centres’ CEO, Laura Lee, with the cheque for £14,086. This is the first of many cheques, with the figure on each expected to rise as the popular lottery spreads across England. As more people sign up for the chance to win thousands of pounds, local charities will gain further support.

The relationship between Maggie’s in England and the People’s Postcode Lottery comes after the phenomenal success the pairing has had in Scotland, where players North of the border have raised over £600,000 for the cancer centres to date - enough to cover the running of two centres for an entire year.

With plans in place to continue building new Maggie’s Centres throughout England, including the North East, Nottingham, Oxford and the Cotswolds, the partnership with the People’s Postcode Lottery couldn’t have come at a better time.

Maggie’s supporters from the North East and Maggie’s CEO Laura Lee accepted the cheque at a photographic exhibition in Newcastle by Maggie’s Patron Sam Taylor Wood recently.

A Maggie’s spokesperson said: “We are at an exciting time in Maggie’s history as we expand across England, following the opening of Maggie’s London in 2008. We are fundraising hard to start building four further Centres across England by 2012 and the support from the People's Postcode Lottery will contribute to this significantly. By signing up to play People’s Postcode Lottery you are directly helping Maggie’s grow across England to support people locally affected by cancer to build a life with, through and beyond cancer.  Thank you to everyone signed up to play.”

The English arm of the charity lottery, which has raised over £2 million for English charities so far, hopes to replicate such a triumph with Maggie’s Centres.

The People’s Postcode Lottery launched in 2005 and represents a unique fundraising concept where players play with their postcode to win cash prizes whilst supporting local charities. 40p from each ticket sold goes direct to charities, which are selected in line with its mission to raise funds for English charities for children, health, the protection of the environment and missing people.